Biography

Eliza was educated at the Universities of Oxford and Durham, and received her DPhil from Oxford in 2015. Her doctoral dissertation explored the role of urban networks in English politics during the Wars of the Roses, and was funded through a Clarendon Scholarship from Oxford University Press and a Bryce Research Studentship from the Faculty of History at Oxford. Eliza was also a Scouloudi Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research in 2013-14. Before joining the Department of History at Sheffield in 2016, Eliza was a Fellow-by-Examination at Magdalen College, Oxford, where she conducted research on towns in later medieval Ireland, Wales, and France and taught modules in medieval and early modern British history.

Eliza's research focuses on late medieval Europe, with a particular interest in the history of towns in the British Isles during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In addition to her specialist research, Eliza is interested in interdisciplinary, transnational, and cross-period approaches to urbanism, political language, rebellion, networks, and empire..

Membership of Professional Bodies

Current Research

Eliza's research concentrates on the political and social history of later medieval and early modern towns. She explores the institutions and complex relationships engendered by the concentration of people in urban areas, and investigates the ways in which urban social and political structures contributed to the functioning of larger 'states'. Eliza's doctoral dissertation, currently being revised for publication as a monograph, argued that English politics in the Wars of the Roses era was shaped by the needs and experiences of an influential urban network. She has also published a number of articles that examine interactions between urban and royal government in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century England, including pieces on rebellions, councils, and charters.

Eliza is now working on a new research project, entitled 'An Urban Empire: Towns of the English Empire and the Practice of Colonial Politics, 1370-1500', which focuses on towns under English control in late medieval Ireland, Wales, and France. She is looking at the ways in which commercial ties between towns and shared dialogues of citizenship helped to sustain the 'English Empire' during a period of military defeat and relatively weak 'state' power. In drawing attention to the role of towns and local institutions in a medieval empire, Eliza seeks to contribute to the study of historical empires, which typically focus on the ancient and modern periods.

Eliza is also keenly interested in placing the history of the British Isles within a European and global context. She has been involved in an AHRC-funded research network at the University of St Andrews on the comparative history of medieval rebellions, in addition to participating in research symposia on popular political discourse and 'bottom-up' politics in later medieval Europe.

Research Supervision

Eliza is eager to supervise students interested in researching any aspect of later medieval Europe, and would particularly welcome proposals for projects concentrating on political or urban history in the period.

Publications

Book Chapters

'Rebellion and the Law in Fifteenth-Century English Towns', in J. Firnhaber-Baker and D. Schoenaers (eds.), The Routledge History Handbook of Medieval Revolt (London: Routledge, 2016)

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'Locality, Polity and the Politics of Counsel: Royal and Urban Councils in England, 1420-1429', in J. Rose (ed.), The Politics of Counsel in England and Scotland, 1286-1707, Proceedings of the British Academy, 204 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016)

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'Urban Identity and Political Rebellion: London and Henry of Lancaster's Revolt, 1328-29', in W.M. Ormrod (ed.), Fourteenth Century England VII (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2012)

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Journal Articles

Module Leader

HST255: Social Crisis and Political Change in England, 1550-1640

The module aims to introduce students to the history of a period crucial to the development of the modern English state and economy. Students will develop arguments regarding the relationship between state formation and social change based on a thorough understanding of the historiography of this complex period of English history. They will also gain some knowledge of contemporary source material.